DENVER -- At last, an entire city can exhale -- and so can its football team.

The Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers in a divisional playoff game Sunday, building a 17-point lead, then hanging on for a 24-17 win at Sports Authority Field.

The victory sets up an AFC showdown between New England and Denver -- Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning -- but on Manning's home field this time.

"Obviously, we're the two best teams in the AFC, because we're playing for the AFC championship," said Broncos linebacker Shaun Phillips, whose team blew a 24-point lead to the Patriots in a 34-31 loss Nov. 24 in Foxborough, Mass. "What more can you ask for as a football player?"

In winning, the top-seeded Broncos washed away some of the bitter taste from last season, when they let a divisional win against Baltimore slip through their grasp, lost in double overtime, and watched from home as the upstart Ravens went on to win the Super Bowl.

This time, the surging Chargers were the threat, and, after being shut out for three quarters, San Diego made a game of it with a rally in the fourth that included two touchdown passes from Philip Rivers to rookie Keenan Allen, a successful onside kick and a field goal.

Of San Diego's slow start, Allen said: "We just came out flat. We couldn't capitalize on third downs coming out of the first half. We tried to make a turnaround, but it was obviously too little, too late."

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Those scoring plays in the fourth quarter quieted the crowd, buffeted all game by a steady wind and temperatures in the 30s, but didn't stifle Manning, who made the necessary big plays down the stretch to collect his first playoff victory since Indianapolis beat the New York Jets in the 2009 AFC title game.

"The team needs to be commended for even getting to this point," Manning said. "There's a lot of teams that had disappointing losses last year -- Atlanta, Washington -- and everybody says in that locker room, 'Let's get back next year.' It just doesn't happen. It's hard to get back."

Sunday was the third game of the season between the Broncos and Chargers, AFC West rivals who had never met in the postseason. Each team beat the other on the road during the regular season.

Manning slammed the door on any thoughts of a San Diego comeback with a clutch drive that burned the final four minutes off the clock. He converted two crucial third downs, both to tight end Julius Thomas -- a sideline pass for 21 yards on third-and-17 and a 9-yard completion on third-and-6.

The third-and-17 will go down in Broncos lore as a magical Manning moment.

"Third-and-17, you know you're going to have to hold the ball a little longer just to give guys a chance to get down the field," Manning said. "It was the perfect call against the perfect coverage, which you may get one or two of those a game. It certainly came at a good time."

In the first three quarters, the Chargers were dogged by all types of execution problems. They also lost running back Ryan Mathews, who came into the game with a tender ankle and watched the second half from the sideline.

The Chargers, who ran for 177 yards against the Broncos in their December victory, were held to 65 on Sunday. Denver gained 133 yards on the ground after being limited to 18 yards in the previous game against the Chargers.

The Broncos also sacked Rivers four times. Phillips, formerly of the Chargers, had two of those sacks.

"I have a professional dislike for quarterbacks; that's the way you have to be as a pass rusher," Phillips said. "But any time I can sack Philip -- I mean, he's a friend of mine -- I can gloat a little bit."

Though they didn't have a lot to gloat about Sunday, the Chargers did reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2009 season.